A September to Remember... Your Creator

    If the Lord wills, over the remaining weeks in this month of September, I would like to show you some things that are good to remember. Throughout the Bible, the inspired writers declare a need to remember specific things, things that will benefit you and help focus your mind on what is good and profitable to your soul.

“Remember now your Creator…”

    In Ecclesiastes 12 we find Solomon advising both younger and older people to remember their Creator.

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.”” (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV)

    To establish a firm foundation of faith and trust in God from youth is a wonderful benefit in life. Tasting and seeing that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8) from a young age and learning to trust Him as we follow His commands enables us to persevere through challenges and trials with strength and might that comes only from God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Developing an unwavering faith helps us face the trials that can come with life and aging with peace and grace: discomfort, weakness in hands and legs, loss of teeth and/or appetite, trouble sleeping, failing eyesight, hearing loss, general aging/frailty, and death (Ecclesiastes 12:2-5).     

“Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.” (Ecclesiastes 12:6 NKJV)

    Solomon restates his advice “Remember your Creator” in verse 6 to both affirm its importance and, in my opinion, to include those who may have come to God later in their life. Maybe trials and struggles in life brought you to your knees and you turned to God for help and comfort. Maybe you grew tired of years of wandering and desired to walk with a purpose that was not of your own making, and you sought God and found Him (Acts 17:26-27). At some point in your life, whether from youth, or mid-life, it is important to remember God and acknowledge who we are before Him (Psalm 16:2, 27:8, Isaiah 64:8). In remembering Him, we need to also find out what is acceptable to Him, and understand His will (Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-17) so we can humbly obey it (Romans 12, James 1:21-25).     

    It doesn’t matter when you come to God; you haven’t missed out entirely if you didn’t know Him from your youth, but I beg you to understand that if you are holding back from fully following Him because you think you will have time “tomorrow,” that day may not come. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, nor are we guaranteed life as we know it right now. A stroke, an aneurism, a heart attack (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7); any of these life-altering (and sometimes life-ending) events could happen while you wait until you “have a convenient time” (Acts 24:24-25).

Note: Another event we all must be prepared for is Jesus second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Peter 3:10-15)  – only God Himself knows when that will be (Matthew 24:36), our responsibility is to be ready when it comes (Matthew 24:42-44).

    The bottom line is: take time right now to remember God and submit to His will.

    Please read and consider these passages that not only reiterate the advice to remember our God, but encourage us to also think about all He has done for us, continues to do for us, and promises to do for us. As you read, think of all that God has brought you through: Psalm 20:7, Psalm 63:6-8, Psalm 77:11-12, Psalm 103:17-18, Psalm 105:4-5. “Meditate” also means to remember, to recall to your mind, so please read these passages as well: Psalm 119:15-16; 23, 48, 148, Psalm 143:5, 1 Timothy 4:15

    It is God who created us and not we ourselves (Psalm 100), He has loved us enough to provide us with His word, the Bible, and with a Saviour – His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 4:9-10, 14-16).  Remember your Creator today while you still have time and a mind to reason and obey. God does not want you to perish, He wants you to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9); He desires that you be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Are you willing?

    The benefits of living with God and for God far, far outweigh the sacrifices you may have to make. Please let go of whatever is holding you back, remember you Creator and turn to Him; seek God and find Him TODAY.

You can do it! So can I!!   

Study of Romans 12: A Summary

    Throughout Romans 12 we have found three easy to spot “fence posts” that help our minds stay aligned to the overarching message: choose good over evil.

• Fence Post One is found in verse 1 and 2, where we are instructed to choose transformation over conformation.
• Fence Post Two is found in verse 9, where we are told to cling to what is good and abhor what is evil.
• Fence Post Three is found in verse 21 where we are commanded to overcome evil with good.

    The verses between these fence posts are filled with instruction to keep us on the right side of the fence; instructions for how to behave toward our brethren and toward those who do evil and persecute us.

    God’s way takes effort: effort in preparing and effort in doing.

"Any dead fish can flow with the current; it takes a live one to swim upstream."

Note: That simple statement was made by my widowed maternal grandmother, Marjorie Gare. It was her response to a question (from her family members, all staunch Free Methodists) of why she left the Free Methodists to obey the gospel and become a member of the church of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Romans 12:4-5). She was the first convert from the community (in 1964) in the then newly formed Wellandport church of Christ. Soon after, two of her brothers (Allen and Glenn) and their wives (Sis and Pearl, respectively) would follow her example, obey the gospel, and become faithful members of the church.   

    We need to prepare our hearts and minds to obey. How? By remembering all that God has done for us.

    He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us so we could be saved from the bondage of sin (1 John 4:9-10, Romans 6:17-19). His mercy is so abundant that He preserved His word through these centuries so we, too, could access it and learn of Him, seek Him, and find out what is acceptable to Him (Romans 15:4-6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Ephesians 5:8-10). And in reading His word, we discover that His commands and instructions are for our good always (Deuteronomy 6:24-26); that His prohibitions keep us safe from harm (and from harming others), and His permissions benefit us (and help us benefit others).

    When we remember and appreciate what God has done for us, and continues to do for us (Psalm 68:19, Romans 8:26-27, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 4:14-16, etc.), we will come to realize that submitting to Him in obedience is the most logical response; He has done so much, and asks so little of us in return.

    When we have gained knowledge (by learning God’s commands and instructions), wisdom (by obeying His commands and instructions), and spiritual understanding (coming to realize the immense value of God and His word, the pure wisdom of His ways, etc.) then we will logically conclude that God’s way is the best way; we will be willing to put ourselves and our own ideas aside and submit to His will (present your bodies a living sacrifice); we will want to be holy and acceptable to God. We will desire the transformation (being changed for the better) that will come when we renew our minds – turning our focus from the world and its ways to God and His way (Colossians 3:1-2) – and we will determine to use the gifts/talents/abilities God has given us, and to use them for good.

    We will grow to love our brethren by applying the instructions given verse 10 through 13, and we will grow to a place of faith in God’s way and strength of spirit so that we will not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with the good that God has instructed us in (verses 14-20) – we will follow His way and in so doing show others in the world that there is a better way.   

    I created two ‘charts’ to help you remember what God has provided us in this one chapter so we can succeed in obeying His commands: 

    I hope you have benefitted from this study of Romans 12 as much as I have. It has opened my eyes to God’s love, and also how far I still need to grow and develop. There is work to do, and God wants you to succeed – to overcome! Are you ready to present your body a living sacrifice, to be holy and acceptable to God? Are you ready to use your abilities for good? To prepare yourself through faithful application of His instructions to love your brethren with brotherly love and to overcome evil with good? God has given us all we need to do exactly that! Are you ready?   

You can do it! So can I!!